2954: Why Intentional Friction is a Game-Changer by Anthony Ongaro of Break the Twitch on Reseting Your Attention Span

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[00:00:11] And no matter if you're a jogger, a trail marathon runner,

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[00:00:19] Get the best out of here with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra with Galaxy AI. Let's go!

[00:00:26] This is Optimal Living Daily, Episode 2954,

[00:00:30] Why Intentional Friction is a Game-Changer by Anthony Ongaro of BreaktheTwitch.com

[00:00:36] I'm your narrator Justin Malik, the guy that reads blogs or articles to you every single day of the year.

[00:00:41] Really appreciate you coming back to listen every day. It really means a lot.

[00:00:45] But with that, let's get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:00:53] Why Intentional Friction is a Game-Changer by Anthony Ongaro of BreaktheTwitch.com

[00:01:00] Have you ever picked up your phone and the next thing you know, 30 minutes have passed?

[00:01:04] Or perhaps purchased something you didn't really need with just one click through your favorite shopping app?

[00:01:09] If you've sat down at the computer to work only to spend the first 20 minutes on Facebook.

[00:01:14] If these situations sound familiar, you're not alone.

[00:01:18] If you're like most BreaktheTwitch readers, you've recognized these tiny distractions and are working to change them.

[00:01:24] There's a simple concept I've used over the last five years that's helped with these distractions.

[00:01:29] I call it Intentional Friction and is a total game-changer if you're trying to improve your focus and get less distracted day to day.

[00:01:37] Five years ago I was at my desk writing a blog post as the marketing director of a non-profit.

[00:01:42] A coworker came by my office, interrupted me and what happened next literally changed my life forever.

[00:01:49] I looked over, made keystroke.

[00:01:51] When I looked back, I had written the word Facebook right in the middle of my sentence.

[00:01:56] Subconsciously I tried to go to facebook.com and failed because I typed it into a Word document.

[00:02:02] This incident opened my eyes to just how deeply these types of distractions were rooted in my brain.

[00:02:08] I began working to recognize and explore solutions for the areas in my life where I tended to Twitch.

[00:02:14] In practice, Intentional Friction is a very simple concept.

[00:02:18] Intentional Friction is adding more difficulty around an easy action you want to do less of

[00:02:24] so you have more space to make a conscious choice.

[00:02:27] As our devices become more integrated into our lives it has become increasingly easier to do the unintentional things that steal our attention.

[00:02:35] These conveniences are designed using research from behavioral scientists that allow attention thieves to capture as much attention as possible.

[00:02:43] When our time is being stolen in these spare moments we don't fully own our attention.

[00:02:48] And when we don't fully own our attention, we're not directing it towards the things that truly matter to us.

[00:02:54] And that's a problem.

[00:02:56] It's not that all technology and devices are bad for us, it's only a problem because most of these consumer devices are not designed to be used in a balanced way.

[00:03:04] For most companies attention is money.

[00:03:07] If they don't have your attention, they're not making money.

[00:03:10] It can be difficult or near impossible to completely remove all distractions from your life.

[00:03:14] This is especially true if your work relies on social media or relative connectivity.

[00:03:19] But even so there are very effective ways to reduce the impact of these distractions.

[00:03:24] Intentional Friction has helped me better own my attention and spend my time more intentionally.

[00:03:30] Designing our environment with intentional friction is a great way to better manage our attention, especially with smartphones and other frequently used devices.

[00:03:38] I've used intentional friction to reduce the time I spend on my phone, exercise more, eat healthier, and maintain my minimalism habit.

[00:03:46] If you're struggling with building habits, it's likely not a motivation problem, it's a friction problem.

[00:03:52] Here are some ideas for creating intentional friction in your life.

[00:03:56] If there's an app you find yourself spending too much time on, relocate the icon away from the main screen.

[00:04:02] Take it a step further and bury it in a folder so you don't even see the icon at all.

[00:04:06] You could also log yourself out and set up a long password you would need to enter in whenever you wanted to use the app.

[00:04:13] Another option is to delete an app off your phone entirely, as I've done before with Facebook and the default browser.

[00:04:19] Adding a few extra steps prevents you from quickly twitching and using the app mindlessly in those in-between moments.

[00:04:26] The intentional friction provides you a little more time so you can consider if you really want to use a certain app.

[00:04:33] Years ago I set a screen time limit on my iPhone and had a friend set up a passcode that he only knew.

[00:04:38] Extreme? Perhaps, but it worked.

[00:04:42] To minimize phone use before bed, I've charged my phone outside the bedroom.

[00:04:46] You can literally design whatever intentional friction you need, so it's important to experiment and see what creates the best results for you.

[00:04:53] Another example I've mentioned before is if you want to use fewer paper towels, you could put a rubber band around it.

[00:04:59] In this case your automatic instinct to grab a paper towel is interrupted, giving you a moment to pause, consider, and then make a more conscious choice.

[00:05:08] Similarly, you can use the concept in reverse, reducing unintentional friction.

[00:05:13] Reducing unintentional friction and increasing intentional readiness can help encourage the actions you want to do more of by making them easier to choose.

[00:05:22] Reduce unintentional friction around exercising more by having your gym clothes and shoes prepared and accessible the night before.

[00:05:30] Another example is having healthy food and snacks in the house, so that's the only option when you're at home.

[00:05:36] If you want to read more, you can put a book right by your bedside table and charge your phone outside of the bedroom.

[00:05:42] There are many ways you can create intentional friction or reduce unintentional friction to make small but impactful changes in your life.

[00:05:50] I've personally found great success in implementing this in my own life, and I encourage you to give it a try.

[00:05:56] You just listened to the post titled, Why Intentional Friction is a Game Changer by Anthony Ungaro of BreakTheTwitch.com

[00:06:07] Thank you to Anthony. This is a big one my brother talks about a lot on the podcast Optimal Health Daily.

[00:06:14] The tip near the end there about having healthier foods in the house is huge, especially if that's what's in regular eyesight,

[00:06:21] like eye level in the fridge or what's sitting out on the counter compared to chips and cookies.

[00:06:27] Get rid of that cookie jar or put it in one of the higher cupboards where you have to go get a chair to reach it

[00:06:33] and then you'll likely have that tiny moment to make a better decision,

[00:06:37] especially if you have fruits or veggies that have already been cut and are ready to go.

[00:06:41] That's actually my biggest thing when it comes to laziness.

[00:06:44] The biggest friction for me is the idea of chopping and preparing foods that'll make me not want to do it,

[00:06:50] so having things ready to go makes it a lot more likely that I'll consume it.

[00:06:54] Think about ways that would work for you to use less willpower and make healthier habits easier

[00:06:59] and then ways to make the less healthy habits more difficult.

[00:07:03] And it's a fast easy step to improve your life.

[00:07:06] Let me know how it goes and what works for you.

[00:07:08] Have a great rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow.

[00:07:10] Where optimal life awaits.